MPA vs MBA

I'm not sure which state sees a DETC degree as limited. I know that California, as do many other states, fully accept any degree from a university accredited by the DETC.

When I completed my MBA/Public Administration degree my police department gave me a raise and ensured my degree was legitmately accredited. Also, you receive "Basic", "Intermediate" and "Advanced POST Certificate through Califorina as you progress through your law enforcement career. You can accelerate to your "Intermediate" & "Advanced" certificate if you have a undergraduate and/or graduate degree. I've been on the job for 3 years and just received my Intermediate Certificate, which usually takes six years without a degree.

I came from a corporate security management background in loss prevention prior to law enforcement. I've found if you don't have the right connections or background in the field just because your a police officer with a graduate degree (MBA, MPA, MS) does not qualify you for positions in the private sector.

I believed an MBA is a strong credential to have once I retire from law enforcement. I've found many people who get the degree(s) in Criminal Justice are limiting their marketing ability. You get plenty of CJ courses in the Police Academy and OJT (On Job Training). Diversify your education!

 

Interesting observations. I too have met several former law enforcement that have very limited opportunities in the private sector because people look at a cop as a cop and not a person.

"I don't know of any PD that looks for Accounting or Computer Science majors. That kind of expertise is almost always contracted-out to civilians, who will usually do a better job, for less money."

I work in Federal Law Enforcement so that really doesn't apply where I am. The Govt. loves people who have additional skills other than police stuff...in my experience.

Most retired cops either wind up in teaching or private security. A few I know go into business for themselves. I've yet to see one become an accountant or somthing.

Oh....I forgot, a lot of the State of Texas jobs from what I understand require a regionally accredited degree.

I don't really know about city governments.

 

I personally would be leery of any MPA program that really deemphasized the quantitative and financial component. In my Master of Public Policy Administration program (B&M), we joked that when an MBA lost the company a ton of dough, s/he got fired, but when an MPA lost the government a ton of tax dollars, s/he got fired AND went to jail! Our program has a concentration in Public Safety Administration that is very popular with the Chicago PD. But I suspect that if you want to teach CJ, that specific subject, you will need specific advanced degrees in CJ. The right MBA or MPA could let you teach in a specialization or concentration, but those jobs might be hard to come by.

 

friendorfoe,

Unless you want to actually DO the financial stuff yourself (and why not, really?) you might want to avoid the professional "management" degrees altogether and go for a J.D. instead.

Just a thought.

 

Actually I have given strong thought to a JD, but unless one is an attorney, it seems to have limited use.

I feel that I am leaning more towards the MBA at NCU due to their specialization in CJ being half the degree, which is great. I suppose I can suffer through 6 business classes.

I'm really no great mathematical wizard but I can hold my own when I have to. Part of our Police Supervision school included statistics, crime analysis (which is broad spectrum critical planning using statistical data) etc. I seemed to do fine with that, but then again, I was interested in what I was doing.

I still have not written off U of Phoenix, but I have to be honest, $25,000 to $30,000 for a MS in CJ just seems to be a big investment for a small return.

An MBA would get more acceptance universally except in academia, which seems to increasingly polarize the real world.

If I did do an MS in CJ, I would still get an advanced business degree such as an MBA to better be accepted in the public and private sectors for promotion etc.

In essence, you get an MS in CJ if you are a "street" cop who wants to become a better street cop. You get an MPA or MBA if you want to move up the ladder.

NCU MBA looks to be a good compromise do to it being inexpensive, highly CJ concentrated, RA and perhaps some of the credits will transfer to an MS in CJ latter in life as my career winds down and I start looking elsewhere.

BTW fortiterinre, the MPA vs MBA analogy was awsome. True indeed.

 

Interesting. Why WOULDN'T a PD implement a system in which a cop could take his/her retirement (disability or regular) and, having used the department's tuition benefits (or re-training benefits if he/she was injured while part of the thin blue line) and bring him/her back as the departmental accountant or IT jock or whatever?

As far as retired cops going into business, would it be viable to develop a breathalizer that is an inexpensive enough & small enough model that private individuals could afford to buy it, carry it with them to the saloons, and find out whether they're blowing an .08 (hence, whether they ought to wait a bit ) before trying to drive home?

 

To your first proposition:

I'll try to answer this playing devils advocate:

1.) bad for morale to have an accountant with one arm because the other one was shot off in the line of duty. It's a reach I know.

2.) cops tend to get jaded, using the a## hole pyramid, a cop starts off thinking criminals are A-holes. Soon he determines the public at large are A-holes. Then he decides that everyone in the Dept. rank of Sergeant and up are A-holes. Soon he believes everyone not on his shift are A-Holes. After a while he thinks everyone not on his beat are A-Holes. Shortly after he thinks everyone but his partner are A-Holes. Then, right before retirement, he realizes his partner is an A-Hole too.

Therefore he would not wat to work in the police station anymore.

BTW, that was a joke folks. The reality is, Police frequently shoot their wounded (metaphorically speaking) For instance in Dallas TX, a police officer was shot with a shotgun trying to save a child, he was ordered back to work or face termination before he had even completed rehab.

Another Officer was rear ended and injured. Her disability was cut off after the 90 day or so allotment while she was trying to recover, thus she recieved no paycheck and had no money. I don't know what happened there.

The point is, sometimes the only person a cop can count on is his partner. The Government will frequently abadon you depending on the money and political climate. The public frequently distrusts you and your supervisors are under a crunch all on their own. You can be dropped in a minute and that's the truth of it.

As for me, I love my job. Not excited about who I do it for though. I don't like my boss. I'm not crazy about some of the guys working for me. My parter is nice enough, but sometimes I think he hides things....which makes this pretty much just like your job only people know what I do for a living at first glance.

wait a second....did I just go off on a rant?

As for the breathalizer....you can pick those up for not much money from Galls.com. Not only that but can you imagine the implied liability for marketing this thing to the public?

 

Gosh! Couldn't the product be warranted only if used correctly? Or has the law abandoned common sense to such an extent that, even if you included instructions on proper use and the customer used it incorrectly anyway, you could get sued if the idiot used the thing (incorrectly) and still got stopped for a DWI/DUI?

 

To your first proposition:

I'll try to answer this playing devils advocate:

1.) bad for morale to have an accountant with one arm because the other one was shot off in the line of duty. It's a reach I know.

2.) cops tend to get jaded, using the a## hole pyramid, a cop starts off thinking criminals are A-holes. Soon he determines the public at large are A-holes. Then he decides that everyone in the Dept. rank of Sergeant and up are A-holes. Soon he believes everyone not on his shift are A-Holes. After a while he thinks everyone not on his beat are A-Holes. Shortly after he thinks everyone but his partner are A-Holes. Then, right before retirement, he realizes his partner is an A-Hole too.

Therefore he would not wat to work in the police station anymore.

BTW, that was a joke folks. The reality is, Police frequently shoot their wounded (metaphorically speaking) For instance in Dallas TX, a police officer was shot with a shotgun trying to save a child, he was ordered back to work or face termination before he had even completed rehab.

Another Officer was rear ended and injured. Her disability was cut off after the 90 day or so allotment while she was trying to recover, thus she recieved no paycheck and had no money. I don't know what happened there.

The point is, sometimes the only person a cop can count on is his partner. The Government will frequently abadon you depending on the money and political climate. The public frequently distrusts you and your supervisors are under a crunch all on their own. You can be dropped in a minute and that's the truth of it.

As for me, I love my job. Not excited about who I do it for though. I don't like my boss. I'm not crazy about some of the guys working for me. My parter is nice enough, but sometimes I think he hides things....which makes this pretty much just like your job only people know what I do for a living at first glance.

wait a second....did I just go off on a rant?

As for the breathalizer....you can pick those up for not much money from Galls.com. Not only that but can you imagine the implied liability for marketing this thing to the public?

 

So you've gotten to this point, eh?:

"Then he decides that everyone in the Dept. rank of Sergeant and up are A-holes."

 

Not true.

To be a good street cop, you need;

1) Common sense

2) Compassion

3) A sense of humor

That's about it.

As for moving up the ladder, check the job listings for almost any police management job. The most common phrase under "Requirements" will be "Bachelor's/Master's degree in Criminal Justice or a related field". Very, very rarely, you'll see "Public Administration" or "Business Administration". Don't take my word for it, go look yourself.

I choose to stay a street cop, in spite of my advanced education, because I enjoy the work, plus I look forward to the day that I can destroy the theories of the ivory-tower academicians, once I find a Ph.D. program that fits into my schedule and my budget.

 

Yeah...I work in an atypical type of law enforcement. Here they require some formal management training or education in such. Then shipped off to the Police Supe School. But you are right, some type of like social degree such as Psychology, Criminal Justice, etc. is the norm for most places.

as for

Quote: "Not true.

To be a good street cop, you need;

1) Common sense

2) Compassion

3) A sense of humor

That's about it."


End Quote


You forgot about:

1.) accute sense of sarcasm and a biting sense of inappropriate humor. (I.E. finding the humor in a Taser incident) Always need this.

2.) a gun and the ability and will to use it when you must. Hopefully never.

3.) a club, fist and mace for those times when you shouldn't use the gun. Hopefully not often.

4.) biting sarcastic lines of questioning when the other options are not available. Usually only when someone's being a jerk.

and all the stuff you mentioned of course.

 

MBA all the way.

MPA if it's from a top school.

If an average school offers both MPA & MBA, get the MBA.

Even govt and non-profits want finance/accounting talent!

 

J.D. if you aren't interested in finance and public budgeting.

 

That would fall under "Sense of humor".

That's a physical tool that anyone can use, not a personal quality.

See above.

Again, falls under "Sense of humor".